


You no longer live as cattle

by Spicy_Cannoli_AKA_Lia



Series: Burning desire you can't extinguish [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: ADHD Steve Harrington, Because I have ADHD, Because I need em so so does Steve, Because I told Tumblr I would write this, Eleven | Jane Hopper-centric, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Give Steve a dog 2020, Glasses Steve Harrington, Good Friend Carol Perkins, Good Friend Tommy Hagan, I'm giving you all of my problems lmao, I'm sorry Steve, Insomnia, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Roadtrip, Short Chapters Probably, Steve Harrington-centric, Steve has a dog, Steve has a tiny pomeranian named Princess, Steve unofficially adopts Eleven, Steve will probably have a dog on all my fics, because he deserves it, no beta we die like men, that's a spoiler right there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23660974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spicy_Cannoli_AKA_Lia/pseuds/Spicy_Cannoli_AKA_Lia
Summary: ((Direct sequel to my short fic ''There's a wildfire inside you''))After fighting interdimensional monsters, Steve though not much could phase him. But here he is, somehow left with the task of taking care of a preteen straight out of the Matrix, managing his annoying best friends, ignoring his girlfriend's calls and trying to convince his parents that adoption was a good choice while trying to hide said preteen from the government. Also Princess won't stop barking..Or, Steve ends up finding little El post S1 and he's trying his best to take care of her while falling apart.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & Carol Perkins, Tommy Hagan & Steve Harrington, Tommy Hagan & Steve Harrington & Carol Perkins
Series: Burning desire you can't extinguish [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703476
Comments: 5
Kudos: 118





	1. In which El takes a shower

“So… what’s your name anyway?’’

To say Steve was feeling awkward would be an understanding. His eyes were burning from all the crying he’d done that day, his wounds from being punched repeatedly on the face hurt, and although his body felt like a deflated balloon, some loud noises had proven it was ready to tense up at any given time. 

Looking in front of him, he guessed the girl sitting on the other couch wasn’t much better. Not only did she look tired, but she also looked like she had just recently stopped crying and - _ was that blood on her face _ .

He was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when the girl made a jerky movement, pulling back her sleeve and showing him her wrist. 

Steve had to blink a couple of times for his eyes to finally focus, but even when he did he had to stare for a few seconds to comprehend what he was seeing. There was a 011 tattooed in her wrist.

“Oh… that’s cool I gue-“ then it hit him.  _ El _ . “Is- is that your name? Eleven?” 

The girl nodded and Steve- Steve didn’t know what to say. Here he had a prepubescent, almost bald girl, who’s name was a  _ number of all things _ shivering from the cold sitting in his mother’s couch. Actually make that dirtying his mother’s couch, he could see mud on her clothes, and they didn’t seem to be dry either. 

‘‘Well,’’ said Steve awkwardly, ‘‘we should leave story-time for later because now, young lady, what you need is a bath.” At the last word, the young girl tensed. She was obviously trying to hide it but it seemed like she didn’t like baths? Steve might be oblivious every now and then but he wasn’t dumb. “Or a shower. My bathtub’s versatile, come on’’ he said, standing up. Princess made sure to follow, and after some hesitation, so did the girl -he really should stop calling her ‘the girl’, but he wasn’t going to call her _ Eleven _ . 

He led them both to the second floor, stopping for a few seconds in the closet to grab a towel along the way, before finally arriving at the guest bathroom. 

“Here it is!” He said with false cheer. The girl looked very uncomfortable since she arrived, so he was trying to be reassuring, but honestly, he was just so  _ tired _ , a scared 12-year-old running from the (fake) police was really the last thing he needed. 

“Um,” he said at her silence, “you  _ do _ know how to take a shower, right?” The girl gave him an unsure look and then shrugged. God he was really starting to hate that lab, robbing girls from childhoods and setting free men-eating monsters. 

“Um well,” he advanced towards his bathtub, and after she followed he continued, “you pull this for hot water, the other way for cold water.” He then pointed towards the piles of bottles, before cringing at how many there were. “Right, uh this one” he picked a bottle up, “is body wash, it’s good for your skin so use it everywhere. These two,” he said holding two other bottles, “are shampoo and conditioner. They’re for your hair.”

It really disturbed him that not once did the girl interrupted him to tell him she already knew that. She just nodded along and reacted as if it was all new information. 

“Well, yeah, just-just use that towel to dry yourself afterwards and I’ll go find some clothes ok?” 

Then, because he was a coward, he left. “Come on Princess, let’s raid Mamma’s closet” he muttered as he closed the bathroom door. 

Honestly having a kid he didn’t know who apparently knew  _ nothing _ was awkward as fuck. Tommy wasn’t wrong when he said Steve always ran away. Whenever the situation got uncomfortable, he tried to avoid it. Of course, uncomfortable for him was different as uncomfortable for everyone else. He could handle someone insulting him to his face - _ hell _ he’d even fight back, and asking girls out? Piece of cake, but getting into a  _ real _ fight, those verbal fights where you hit where it  _ hurt _ because you knew the person as well as you knew yourself. Or saying no to his father to his face, or just talking about his insecurities.  _ There _ he retreated.

Also, what was he supposed to do, watch her bathe? No thank you, the only girl he ever gave baths and showers to was Princess and Princess alone. Maybe his future wife, if he ever got one. Or a daughter. But some random preteen he just met? No way Jose.

As the thoughts ran through his head, Steve busied himself by looking through his Mother’s closet. He made sure to stay cleat of the front part of the walk-in, where the things she actually wore where, and instead focused on the back, filled to the brim with impulse buys with the tags still there. 

As he looked through some skirts, he was suddenly grateful his mother was a petite woman. He was sure with a safety pin he could make them fit her. He then chose some blouses that were meant to be tucked in. The size wouldn’t be a problem that way- not that oversized clothes were unfashionable or anything. He decided to take a brand new nightgown his mother bought some years ago, some underwear and after making sure everything was colour coordinated, he went to his room to get the young girl some sweaters. 

He left everything except the nightgown and some underwear on the guestroom closets to his room, and then went back to the bathroom. He had spent a while looking for clothes, and he couldn’t hear the sound of rushing water, so he knocked and waited. 

‘‘Yes?’’ he heard, her voice soft and quiet. ‘‘Are you done with your shower?’’ he asked, ‘‘I brought you some clothes to change into’’

The door opened, and there she stood. She had wrapped the fluffy towel over her head and body like a blanket, and judging by the heat he could feel, the redness of what little body was visible beneath it and the fogged up mirror, he could guess the young girl had gone with hot water. There was something about the sight that was just playful and childish, the towel covering her head made it so none of her shaved head was visible, so she just looked like a normal kid. 

Steve had to look away from her wide eyes. She looked so tiny and trusting, Steve felt like a dirty old man, even if he had done nothing wrong. He shook the thoughts away and looked at her again as he extended his right arm with the pants and nightgown. ‘‘Here, put this up and then I’ll show you your room’’ he said. 

However, it seemed like the young girl had taken his words too literally, as after taking the offered garments from his hands and putting them on the sink, she immediately proceeded to undress, barley giving Steve time to look away.

‘‘Oo-oh God, El, Eleven, you can’t just’’ he struggled, hand covering his eyes, ‘’you can’t just undress like that’’ he said. 

‘‘Why’’ 

Steve sighed frustratedly at that, trying to think about how to explain it. ‘‘It’s just- it’s not proper’’ he said, echoing his mother’s favourite phrase. ‘‘Your naked body is for your eyes only. Well, your eyes and maybe the doctor’s eyes, and your boyfriend’s too I guess? But only if you want to, and actually you’re too young for that’’ he shut up before he kept rambling. The girl made a confused sound and Steve just sighed again, suddenly too tired for this conversation. ‘‘Look, we can discuss this conversation later, for now just put that on and then follow me, ok?’’ he asked her. He got no response but the sound of clothes shuffling, and after a few seconds, he could feel a hand tugging on his shirt.

He apprehensively opened his eyes, finding the young  _ dressed  _ girl looking at him expectantly. He gave her a shaky smile, before leading her towards the guest room.

‘‘Ok so, here’s your bed, if you get cold you can put this on’’ he pointed at the sweater he had left at the side table ‘‘Or you can use this’’ at that he pointed at the duvet at the end of the bed. ‘‘Or both I guess. Well there’s a bathroom there, and my room is the one on the right so if you need anything, just ask. And with that, I am done. Goodnight, tyke’’ He gave her a smile, and seeing as her face didn’t show any confusion, he left her alone and went to his room.

He sat on his bed and looked down at the tiny dog. ‘‘Goddamn it Princess, what have I gotten us into.’’


	2. In which Steve has a nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> n i g h t m a r e s

_ Steve was running. He had to run.  _ It  _ was going to catch him. _

He looked around. It was dark, the woods seemed to wrap around him, the trees trashing their branches like arms as if to grab him and-

_ Steve was running. He had to run.  _ It  _ was going to catch him. _

His breaths were shallow and loud, the woods were quiet, the only sound he could hear was his own footsteps but somehow he still knew-

_ Steve was running. He had to run.  _ It  _ was going to catch him. _

As he looked around for something to help him, a place to hide, a weapon to attack he saw the bat. Nancy’s bat. His bat. It was laying there, above some leaves, looking clean and new. Steve leaned forward to grab it, it was his only chance but he had stopped to grab it and-

_ Steve had stopped. He wasn’t running. _ It  _ was going to catch him. _

Steve looked around slowly, and the dark silhouette stared back at him. Eyeless face pulsating as it slowly got closer and closer until the drool coming out of the tiny opening hit his nose and then.

_ It  _

_ opened  _

_ its  _

_ mouth,  _

_ beautiful like a flower, deadly like cyanide. The smell was horrendous, like old food left to dry for far too long. The sharp teeth gleaming mockingly at Steve was the last thing he saw before suddenly it  _

_ Sn ap p ed _

__

_ C lo s ed _

_ And he could feel it crunching his head, and he could hear screaming  _ “Steve!”  _ And he realised it was  _ “Steve!”  _ Him that was  _

_ s c r  _

_ e a m  _

_ i n g _

_ And it h u r t - _

* * *

“ **STEVE** ” 

“Wha” Steve’s body shot up like a spring, heart beating loudly. His throat ached and he realised the screaming wasn’t just part of the dream.

The dream. Was it a dream? He looked around, but in the place of the tall trees stood his curtain. The meadow with his bad was just his closet, his real bat -Nancy’s bat, his bat- was laying innocently on his floor, a couple of feet away.

As he tried to even out his rapid breaths, he noticed he wasn’t alone. In front of him sat Eleven, hands fidgeting on her lap, a worried expression on her face. Next to her was Princess, who, as soon as she noticed Steve looked coherent enough jumped on his lap and started licking his face.

He would’ve thought the sudden movement would’ve bothered him, but the feeling of her tongue on his face, her sharp claws on his arm and her fluffy fur on the rest of his body was grounding, slowly reminding him that he was home. That he was safe. 

Steve looked down after his breathing finally evened out. He was ok, nothing was there, and if something was he had hi- Nancy’s- his bat and a superpowered preteen to protect him. As the panic seemed to leave his system, Steve started feeling another emotion he hated.

Embarrassment.

God, this was messed up. He absentmindedly petted Princess fur -and was that a tangle? And mud? Guess he was bathing her soon- as he thought of the situation he was currently in.

He had had nightmares before, but not once did it feel as real and fucking  _ scary _ as it did then. He guessed he never actually had something to be really scared of. His recurring nightmare of being a ghost no one could see or talk to had nothing on the sheer  _ terror _ he felt as he ran from the monster. 

“S-Steve?” A hesitant voice spoke up. And oh, right, there was the child that just witnessed all of that. 

“Yeah uh, good- good morning?” He said questioningly. He looked at his windows -god he didn’t even close the curtains, what a mess- only to see the crescent moon up high, smiling down at him. 

“Did I- did I wake you up?” He asked her, an uncomfortable feeling churning in his gut. 

“Prin. cess. Did.” She said, enunciating Princess slowly as if it was the first time she had said the word. Lord, knowing her background, it might as well be. “She told me you were hurt.” 

“She told you- you can understand her?!” He asked, shocked. 

“Well.” The young girl started. “She was trying to tell me something. Making noise.” Barking. That sounded like Princess alright. “She was feeling, worried. She led me to your room.” She finished. Nodding at her explanation. 

“Well then, thank you, Princess, for waking me up, and thank you Eleven,” he said. He didn’t know the first thing about dealing with kids, but he knew they picked up everything, and being polite would probably make them polite. She was a bit old to teach manners to, but he guessed there wasn’t an etiquette class at the laboratory where she was kept.  _ She was probably very clean though, that’s an upside  _ he thought sarcastically.

“Don’t you want a- a name that isn’t Eleven?” He asked. It probably wasn’t the question to ask her, she probably didn’t even notice her name was weird but- he had to say something. “Eleven isn’t really, a proper name you know? I mean- you can keep it if you like but, maybe something cuter? Or just more… human” He rambled, his petting of Princess growing more and more frantic as his words became faster and faster “Like Ellie! Still close enough but not a num.. ber….” he drew out. He knew he was rambling, trying to distract himself but, just because he knew it, didn’t mean he would admit to it, or try to change it.

“...Ellie is fine” she said, looking at the hands fidgeting on her lap. “Mik- my friends call me El. But you can call me Ellie.” She shrugged.

And that was it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...chapters are probably gonna be this short for this story buuuut I should update like maybe twice a month? I'm in a writing mood so maybe more idk
> 
> Also, I swear to god no one's gonna see coming what's happening in chapter 4 (i think it'll be 4,, depends really on how much time passes in the next chapter) but yeah idk hopefully you'll like it.
> 
> As always, feel free to leave whatever comment bellow, I'll make sure to read it! Night! And happy (late) workers day.


	3. In which there are pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First few days with El. Gone wrong, gone bloody. No clickbait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd and unedited as always. Sorry for the wait? (Also if you read Like the wind or Make My Mark, they're gonna be updated soon, just gotta finish editing)

The day was- surprisingly normal actually. 

Eleven -or Ellie for now he guessed- didn’t seem to speak much, seemingly finding comfort in the quiet. Steve- Steve didn’t like the silence as much, but after everything that happened yesterday, he relished in it. 

Since it wasn’t even morning yet, Steve decided breakfast should wait, so he went and did whatever could distract him. He cleaned the floors, finished washing whatever clothes were dirty -and had a mini-breakdown when deciding whether he should clean the shirt he had when fighting that- that thing. He ended up throwing it away. It was filled with saliva, soot and bad memories. The bat was reminder enough- and as he did it all, Ellie diligently followed.

She never said a word. Sometimes she just sat and petted Princess -in a delicate and cautious way that spoke of years of inexperience with pets- and sometimes, like when he was hanging the now-clean clothes to dry- she helped. 

They were now sitting quietly on the sofa. Steve feeling exhausted after his lack of sleep and Ellie staring at him with curiosity. He guessed she’d get bored of doing nothing but until she spoke he probably wouldn’t be getting up.

Then he heard it. A sound that made the hairs on his arms stand up. It sounded like a low growl and he had to focus on evening his shallow breaths for a few minutes before realising what had made the sound was- Ellie? No, her stomach. 

He raised his head from when he was cradling it on his arms and looked at her. “Are you hungry?” 

Ellie just nodded at him. She had an expectant look on her face that reminded him of a cat. He looked at the nearest clock and- oh. It was six already. He was feeling hungry too, might as well make something. 

“Come on then,” He said “help me make some pancakes” 

And pancakes they did. It looked like measuring things and mixing was something she’d never done -and honestly, at this point, he’d have better luck making a list of things she  _ had _ done- but she got the hang of it quickly. She was messy at first, pouring the flour everywhere before Steve helped her with it, but with some guidance, she was pouring like she’d been born doing it.

“Man,” Steve sighed, flipping the last pancake into a plate, “this kitchen is such a mess”

“I can help,” she said, putting an accent on every word she pronounced. Steve looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, but she just put on a concentrated face and looked at the part of the floor with the flour. 

Steve was about to speak up when the flour started- it was  _ levitating?? _ He was about to scream but then he put two and two together. 

He remembered the kids at the hospital saying she had superpowers of all things but- he thought they were exaggerating or something but, here she was. Tiny girl using The Force?? To clean his kitchen floor of all things. 

“Is this even real life?” He had to ask. He had led a normal life, did normal things, and yet in the last 48 hours, he’d fought  _ monsters _ and met  _ super-powered little girls _ . What the actual fuck was going on.

“There,” she said, looking at him expectantly. He smiled at her, somehow guessing disappointing a telekinetic girl wouldn’t be a good idea. He was rewarded with a proud smile and- was that the first time he’d seen her smile? 

Well powers or no powers, she was just a little girl, with a shitty childhood and a hungry stomach. If what she needed at the moment where some pancakes, then pancake she’d get. 

Steve gave here some small tablecloths “Here, take this to the table” he said, getting two plates from his pantry with one hand, pancakes with the other. He also remembered to get some maple syrup and butter because kids liked sweets right? 

He taught her to set the table and they ate. He was looking at her as she took her first bite of her maple syrup coated pancakes and even though this batter was nowhere near his usual standard, her whole face lit up when she took that first bite.

The day proceeded along the same vein. Steve going through his usual routine and Ellie following him and trying to imitate him. He wondered if Nancy would call him, but she never did. He guessed she probably had more important things to do, more important things to worry about, but he’d been part of it too, he wanted someone to come and tell him it was going to be alright. 

He ended up getting what he wanted in the afternoon. He had just finished walking Princess and now Ellie, Princess and him were watching Little Lulu on the telly, when the phone rang. 

Both brunettes jumped in shock at the unexpected sound, but he quickly regained his footing and went to pick it up. He was so sure it was going to be Nancy calling him, that when a low baritone voice greeted him he actually felt displaced. He knew he had heard it before, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out who was calling him. It was only when the man on the other end said: “You with me kid?” That he realised. 

“Chief Hopper?” 

“Yeah, who did you think you were talking to?” 

“I didn’t- I- what is it?” 

“I just wanted to ask you what happened on your end, and then fill you in on everything else. I know we did something similar at the hospital but I’ve been taking everyone’s statement to form a more coherent timeline” he said

“Oh, yeah sure”

And so he did. He told him everything, from Holland’s disappearance to fighting the  _ thing _ at the Byers house. He thought about telling him about Ellie, but when he was about to she just looked at him and shook her head no. 

He really wanted to tell him but, if Hopper was to be believed he had all the time to talk about it. He guessed he’d talk to her about it afterwards. 

The call eventually ended and Steve felt more informed than he had in a while. He also realised just how messed up the situation was, and also looked like Holland had died. In his pool. In another dimension. That was his life now.

He eventually hung up and filled Ellie on everything he heard. He was sure he probably said some things incorrectly but Ellie just nodded to everything he said, not once interrupting him. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon watching tv- or, he guessed Ellie was watching it. Steve was just trying to assimilate everything that just happened. When it came time for dinner, Steve decided to make something easy -pasta all'aglio- and letting Ellie help him. 

From what he guessed, her father was dead and her mother, well she probably thought her daughter was dead. If Ellie somehow ended up living alone as he did, then he was going to prepare her for it. Teaching her how to clean the house and how to cook where essential. He’d later teach her the financial side of things, well that is if he couldn’t find her a place to live in by then. 

Maybe he should try to find her mother? No one had mentioned a mother. “Ellie, do you have a mother?” 

The brunette tilted her head at him from where she was sitting on the couch. “Mama?” She asked, before frowning at the floor. 

“I don’t know” she finally said. Steve sighed in disappointment, about to think of something else to say when she suddenly brightened up. “I can find her!” She said excitedly. 

Steve was about to tell her why that’d be a bad idea when he remembered that finding Russian spies or whatever was what she was actually used for back then. “I need, salt,” she said, and  _ oh right, Hopper had said she had to float or whatever _ . 

“Uh, do you think you could wait on that?” Steve asked awkwardly. “I can find out how much salt you need, and get it for you, but it’s gonna take a while you know?” he shrugged.

Ellie looked down, disappointment clear on her face, before yawning. “You can stay here till then, don’t worry.” he told her, patting her head, “but now you should sleep right?” 

So they got ready for bed and each went to their rooms. 

* * *

Sleep didn’t come to him that night. Instead of fighting it, Steve decided to be an asshole towards Princess and wake her up. She didn’t seem to mind, and soon they were playing catch on the hallway. 

They lasted around an hour like that, him sitting on the floor and throwing the ball, and Princess chasing it and bringing it back. Eventually, Princess got tired of playing and laid tiredly on his lap. 

Steve closed his eyes, petting the fluffy fur of his mother’s dog and sighed, wondering what the fuck was doing with his life, when-

“ **AAAAAH!** ”

A piercing scream came from Steve’s guest bedroom. Princess and him where quickly alert. Steve ran towards his bedroom, got his bat and then ran straight back to the hallway and to Ellie’s room. 

When he got there, there where no monsters in sight, but Ellie was curled at one edge of the bed, eyes wide, looking at the mess of blood on the bedsheets. 

“What happened!?” Steve asked worriedly, walking cautiously towards Ellie. 

“I- There’s blood and- it hurts and, and I don’t know  _ why, _ ” she said, looking more scared than he could imagine someone who’d fought that monster and  _ won _ could be. 

At her words, Steve had a nagging suspicion on what was going on, but just to make sure he looked at the blood, then looked at the place her nightgown was bloodied, and- 

“Holy shit!  _ Hollyshithollyshithollyshit _ . I don’t know how to deal with this!” He looked at Ellie with wide eyes, then looked back at the blood, then back at her. “Fuck this shit, we should call Nance,” 

“No!” she screamed, and  _ what _ . 

“No Ellie you don’t get it,” he told her, eyes wide, “girls know what to do with this, I don’t” 

“No! Mike will know!” she screamed at him and, weren’t they friends or something? Steve was so lost. 

“Why is that a bad thing Ellie,” he asked patiently. He had never interacted much with kids, but he could guess screaming wasn’t taking them anywhere. 

“The Bad Man,” she whispered, as if scared, “looking for me. They know me and Mike are  _ friends _ ” 

Steve raised an eyebrow at the weight she gave the word  _ friends _ but decided if that was the words she wanted to emphasis then he wouldn’t stop her. 

“Well, we have to tell  _ someone _ ,” he reasoned. “If you want the pain and the bleeding to stop, that is,” and Steve wasn’t actually sure either of them could be stopped -Carol certainly made it seem like the most horrible pain imaginable, and painkillers never seemed to work on her… though maybe she just got a high tolerance after all the shit they pulled together- but he just  _ couldn’t _ deal with this alone.

… talking about Carol...

“I can tell my friend Carole about it in the morning. We’ll just say you’re my half-sister and won’t have to tell her about the other w- the Upside Down stuff” Steve offered pleadingly. He  _ really _ didn’t want to deal with this alone. 

“...ok,” she said, and Steve sighed, relieved. 

Now he just had to convince Carol.    
  


* * *

Steve ran his hand through his hair as he waited for Mrs Perkins to gat Carol the phone. He had to phrase this correctly and get her on his- oh shit here she was,  _ what to say _ “I need your help,”  _ fuck _ . Well, the situation wasn’t totally lost, Carol did like feeling needed -well who didn’t- so it was salvageable. “Look, I don’t know who else to call but my sister just started bleeding- well  _ menstruating, _ ” he said, whispering the last word, “and she’s in pain and I don’t have anything to help her and, I just need help, can you come over? Alone?” 

He looked to his right, where Ellie was holding Princess and giving him a  _ look _ and he had no idea what it  _ meant _ . He was so busy thinking of that he almost missed what Carol said next. 

“What? Oh yeah, we’re not actually related I think… You will? Thank you so much man, I’ll seriously owe you one. Yeah, yeah that’s fine. Ok, I’ll be waiting” and he hung up the phone.

He looked at Ellie again, she seemed to be trying to think of something else and she petted Princess’ long fur. 

“Carole said-” he started saying, only to be interrupted. 

“I know,” she said and,  _ right, superpowers _ . 

“I could hear,” she said in a defensive tone, and if he didn’t know better he’d say she was offended that he thought she’d use her powers for that, but she couldn’t read minds,  _ right _ ?

Ellie just gave him a  _ look _ … again. And. Steve wasn’t going to look into that, nope. He refused to think she could read minds. 

The (really) short-haired girl just rolled her eyes before clutching her- stomach? Womb?? In pain. She didn’t complain, however, just got a determined look on her face and ignored the pain. 

“Eggo?” she asked, acting as if nothing had happened. 

“Uh, I think we have some. You want some eggos?” he said, accidentally slipping into his Princess’s voice. Ellie didn’t seem to mind, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Princess, recognizing the tone of voice, started barking for some food, tail wagging a hundred wags per minute. 

  
  


They were just finishing cleaning up the table when the doorbell rang. The anxious Ellie (who had stuck some toilet paper on her underwear) looked up to him with a reluctant look, bunching up the skirt she was wearing with her hands. 

“Wait here,” he told her, before hurrying towards the door. 

He didn’t know how much he missed Carol until he saw her standing there. On the last few days, he’d seen stranger things than in the rest of his years alive. 

“Hey so, don’t mention the hair or, the tattoo. Or the way she talks- basically her old dad was an abusive piece of shit ok” he told her and he could see her eyes widening. 

“...is this another Princess situation?” she asked dismissively, though he could hear a worried undertone, and he knew that by that she meant  _ did your parents adopt a kid and then left you to take care of them by yourself?  _ And he was glad that no matter how bitchy his friend was, she’d still help if she thought it was important.

“Uh, my parents actually don’t know” and  _ shit _ he really didn’t mean to say that. Looking at the way her eyebrow was raising itself and the way her eyes turned judgy, Steve hurried to explain.

“Look, her dad’s dead, and she’s alone and scared and appeared on my house and, apparently some of her father’s colleagues are looking for her and- look, Carol, she’s a terrified child who’s scared of adults, for good reason, and I don’t know what to  _ do _ ” he rambled, and he couldn’t help but be relieved at the way her eyes softened. She wouldn’t tell. 

“Just show me the girl Steve,” she said, rolling her eyes. And Steve just took a deep breath and started walking towards the kitchen. 

Just as promised, Carol didn’t say anything about the hair when she saw her. She just asked Ellie for her name (and was Steve  _ glad _ she’d responded with Ellie and not Eleven) and took her to the bathroom with her bag full of womanly products Steve wanted to take no part of. 

So he just went to the couch and watched some Monty Python reruns with Princess as Carol explained everything to Ellie. After a while of them not coming out, Steve decided to take Princess out on a walk. When he finally came back, both girls seemed to be done. 

“Hey,” he said as he arrived, Carol stared at him as she chewed on some gum before finally speaking to him.

“We need to talk” 

That didn’t sound good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How well do I write Carol? no clue. I'll probably rewatch s1 before the next chapter so hopefully I'll have a more solid grasp on her character. 
> 
> Idk man I slept like one hour last night (...was watching a stream up till 5am... which is the hour i tend to wake up in lol) so this probably is messy af. 
> 
> Did you see this coming? I did... but I wrote it so idk if it counts.
> 
> Have a great day!

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, I decided to continue this. Tiny chapter, but this ain't really a super planed fic (I have a vague outline) and it's more of a thing to write when I don't wanna work on Make my Mark so yeah probably won't have long chapter ever. 
> 
> I decided to divide this into parts, the first part, which I'm calling 'Cattle' will take place from the end of season 1 to just before the beginning of season 2. The second part, which doesn't have a name yet, will be season 2 and, well I might do some ships if I don't end it in part one. If I do do ships, it's probably gonna be Harringrove and maybeeeeeee Elmax, so if you're not into that, then uh idk don't read part two. This part will only have canon ships, however, and they'll only be there as background. I like me some gen every now and then you know? 
> 
> If you're into this and would like to read more, I'd be really grateful if you let me know! Also, feel free to suggest stuff for this, I might end up writing them!
> 
> (Also whoever guesses where I'm taking the titles from, hopefully without googling, wins a prize. Probably me writing them smth?? maybe??? idk def a mention at least)


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